Over the next couple of days both Rick and Maggie watched as their friends skirted around each other nervously. Daryl would have normally offered to take Carol out hunting with him as he had done so many other times in the past, these days he seemed to prefer his own company. They no longer shared cosy chats at the end of the day and Carol would often make Beth take Daryl's food over to him if he had missed a meal.
Finally Rick decided it was time to see whether any of the rest of the group had any ideas about what to do about the whole situation. He waited until Daryl was out on a hunt and Carol had taken a shift in the guard tower keeping watch for any stray Walkers.
"People, we've got a situation brewing and I think it's time we intervened." He gathered everyone together around the metal tables in the centre of the cell block.
"What's up Rick?" Hershel asked in his soft Georgia drawl as he took a seat and propped his crutches up against the wall.
"It's about Daryl…has anyone spoken with Carol recently? Did she mention anything out of the ordinary happening between the two of them?" Rick passed his gaze over the group and lingered on Maggie who was looking down and twisting her fingers in her lap. "Maggie?"
"She did mention something that was playin' on her mind…it was in confidence though, and I don't think that she'd appreciate us gossipin' about her behind her back." Maggie raised her head and stared Rick directly in the eyes, refusing to back down.
"I'm not asking you to gossip….I heard something from Daryl that he's feelin' pretty raw about and wondered whether there was anything we could do to soothe the waters."
"What did he say? And what do you mean by 'raw'? From what I heard from Carol, if anyone should be feelin' raw it's her." Maggie's eyes narrowed at Rick's phrasing and she pressed him for details.
"I thought you didn't want to gossip behind their backs?" Hershel remarked drolly, which caused everyone to laugh.
"I'll tell you what he said; if you'll tell me what she said." Rick offered a compromise and Maggie nodded.
"Agreed, only not here." Maggie ignored the protests from the rest of the group, eager to hear any hint of a possible romance brewing and gestured for Rick to follow her into the corridor. He waved everyone back to their seats with a pointed look at Glenn who had started to rise to his feet and followed Maggie into the corridor.
Waiting until they were nearly around the corner, Carl silently crept over to listen at the doorway. He made sure that he remained just out of sight, well into the shadows. He listened for a while and then turned back to the group.
"Something happened when Daryl was on watch the first night we came to the prison…."
"Go on….keep listening!" Glenn shooed him back to the door and Carl leant closer to the hallway.
"He was giving her a back rub and she offered him a chance to screw around…."
"Ooooohhhhh….." Beth squealed with delight and a round of shushes were heard.
"He thought she was joking…..they laughed it off…..Hey! That's great!" Carl exclaimed happily and then his excitement turned to sadness in the next instance. "Oh…they won't be friends anymore…"
"Carl! Come on, spill it!" Everyone urged Carl to return to the table and share the news. He walked slowly over and lay his hat in the middle of the table.
"Well it looks like they really do like each other, but neither one of them wants to take the chance of it ruining their friendship. It seems that Carol thought that Daryl was rejecting her, so she tried to pass it off as a joke. He seems to think that she is too embarrassed to talk about it so just won't talk to him at all." Carl stopped talking as soon as he heard his father and Maggie walk back into the room. Rick looked pleased after their conversation in the hallway and propped one booted foot up onto a stool and looked around the room.
"Well, I think that Maggie and I have come up with a plan to get the two of them talkin'. We're going to reorganise the shifts over the next couple of days so that the two of them are paired up as much as possible."
"Don't you think that's a little obvious, Rick? Just because you're paired with someone on a watch doesn't mean that you'll be in the same place all of the time. Daryl likes to walk the perimeter when he's on a night watch whereas Carol likes to have the advantage of overseeing things from the tower." Glenn pointed out the differences between their behaviours and watched as Rick's expression fell a little flat.
"How about we send them both out on a run together? We could use some formula and nappies for Judith – they would have to take a car rather than the bike and would need to be away overnight as we've pretty much drained the towns around here dry." Hershel offered up a potential solution which would force the pair into close proximity for at least two days if not more.
"That could work…." Rick rubbed a hand over his bristled jaw and thought about the logistics. "Axel, could you maybe tinker with Daryl's bike so that he can't take it out? Nothing that can't be repaired, I just want him to have no other option but to take a car. Glenn, take a look at a map and find me a town that's far enough away that they have to stay overnight – I want to give them as much time as possible….It'll be up to them to choose how they use it." Rick looked around the group, seeking agreement for the plan; receiving nods all around he moved his foot to the floor and braced his hands on his hips.
"I'll go and break the good news to Carol, Daryl should be back soon so I'll tell him as well. Axel, make sure Daryl doesn't catch you with his bike."